Blogs / Cosmic Variance

Hot from the news wires: Tonight, Albert Pujols became the fastest player in major league history to reach 19 home runs during the start of the season. He has 19 home runs in 37 games, breaking the record set by Mickey Mantle in 1956 by 3 games. Can’t wait to see the rest of his season! Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire, eat your heart out - records are made to be broken. (BTW: for the uninitiated, this is serious baseball.)

It wouldn’t feel right if one of us didn’t do a post noting that today is what many people (or at least me and JoAnne, I think) consider the unofficial start of summer - Opening Day of the 2006 Major League Baseball Season. Even better for me, the Cleveland Indians (my team, since I grew to love baseball while living in Cleveland) are playing in the opening game against last year’s World Series winners, the Chicago White Sox.

I’ve had the game on while exercising and doing a little work. I’ve groaned as I saw the Indians’ star starter C.C. Sabathia hurt himself within the first three innings and the White Sox take a 3-0 lead, and I’ve perked up as the Indians came right back and tied the game 3-3 in the top of the 4th inning.

But torrential rain came in just after that, and the game is still in rain delay, so I won’t have time to report on how it ends even if they do eventually resume play.

Nevertheless, as far as I’m concerned - summer is here

It’s been a long time since we’ve busted out the Friday iChing, in which we use songs from our iTunes playlist as Tarot cards to tell the future. Fortunately Steinn has kept the tradition alive, but it’s time we step up to the plate. Also, substantive blogging is hampered by my travel schedule at the moment — and wouldn’t you know, I fly all the way to southern California just to get rained on.

Since it has been a while, and we don’t know when it will happen again, we should take advantage of the situation to ask a question of great magnitude and import: Will the plucky #2-ranked Villanova Wildcats and their scrambling four-guard lineup be able to charge through March Madness to win the NCAA basketball tournament? We point and click and the randomizer whooshes… The key explains each of the cards.

1. The Covering: Madeleine Peroux, This Is Heaven To Me
2. The Crossing: Thelonious Monk, Epistrophy
3. The Crown: Bob Marley, Keep On Moving
4. The Root: Vladimir Horowitz, Chopin Piano Sonata No. 2
5. The Past: Von Freeman, I Love You
6. The Future: Leonard Cohen, Tower of Song
7. The Questioner: Yohimbe Brothers, Psycopathia Mojosexualis
8. The House: LL Cool J, Jingling Baby
9. The Inside: Ute Lemper, But One Day
10. The Outcome: Squeeze, I Want You

Well, sometimes the Oracle speaks pretty clearly, even if it doesn’t tell you what you want to hear. The Covering simply restates the obvious: it would be great to win the national title. The Crown, explaining the best that can be obtained, is “Keep On Moving,” which I take to imply that we can at least expect some advancement into later rounds. Vonski’s “I Love You” represents the past, an obvious allusion to Nova’s spectacular upset of Georgetown to win the 1985 national title in one of the most thrilling basketball games of all time. The Inside implies that we fans hope/expect to win it one day again — but the Outcome, “I Want You,” while again stating the obvious nevertheless seems to promise something other than complete fulfillment. So, either the iPod is just teasing us, or it’s going to be close-but-no-cigar for the valiant Wildcats this year.

That’s okay, so long as it’s not Duke, we can all be happy.

You know who I would not want on my baseball team? A. J. Pierzynski.

Google the phrase clubhouse cancer and the first two results will be stories about Chicago White Sox catcher A. J. Pierzynski. Teammates and members of the media use those words and others—unprofessional, immature, arrogant, aloof—to describe him. His baseball misdemeanors are legion: chirping at the opposition, bitterly contesting balls and strikes (very stupid for a catcher, who must win goodwill for his pitcher), and venting his frustrations on opposing first basemen. “He doesn’t have a lot of baseball etiquette,” says one ex-teammate. “He’ll deliberately step on your foot at first base, then say, ‘Man, I didn’t mean to do that!’”

The most telling of the many, many (seriously, you wouldn’t believe how willing people were to talk about this guy) Pierzynski anecdotes we heard took place during spring training in 2004. Pierzynski, crouched behind the plate, took a pitch to the groin. Rushing to his aid, trainer Stan Conte asked him how he felt. “Like this!” Pierzynski grunted, then savagely kneed Conte in the balls.

“You just want to choke him,” says the ex-teammate, who has also played against him. “You want your pitcher to hit him in the head.”

Via Gapers Block.

The wrecking ball hit Busch Stadium in St. Louis this week. It was watched by many. It’s a somber time for Cardinals fans and the 4 decades of children who grew up in this stadium. I can’t help wondering why a perfectly good stadium is being dismantled and then rebuilt. Surely there are schools or libraries or musuems that could use the investment.

I’ve been keeping quiet on this topic, or at least mentioning it only in hushed tones to those close to me who are in the know. But I can’t stay silent any longer. My home town soccer team - Wigan Athletic - which only became a real professional team when I was ten or so, are currently second in the Premier League and less than two games behind leaders Chelsea.

As described on premierleague.com

Wigan Athletic are in the Premiership for the first time in their history, having made a remarkable rise in the last decade under owner and chairman Dave Whelan. While Manchester United were winning the inaugural competition in 1993, Wigan were being relegated to the new Third Division, and the following year they finished 19th, their lowest ever league position. But everything changed when JJB Sports supremo Whelan took over in 1995. The former Blackburn Rovers player immediately signalled his intent by signing the so-called ‘Three Amigos’ - Isidro Diaz, Jesus Seba and Roberto Martinez. Under former Norwich City manager John Deehan they won promotion to the Second Division in 1997, clinching the title on goals scored from Fulham, and in 1999 they left Springfield Park for their impressive new home, the JJB Stadium. A dramatic play-off final defeat followed the next season, as Gillingham scored twice in the final seven minutes to snatch a 3-2 win. In 2001, goalkeeper Roy Carroll signed for Manchester United and manager Steve Bruce left to join Crystal Palace after just six weeks in charge. Former player Paul Jewell was installed as his replacement. Nathan Ellington joined from Bristol Rovers for a club record fee in 2002, and Wigan stormed to the Second Division title in 2003 by 14 points, amassing 100 points in the process. After just missing out on the play-offs in 2004, Wigan completed their astonishing climb to the top flight in 2005, securing promotion from the Championship with a 3-1 win over Reading in the final game. Strike duo Ellington and Jason Roberts, who were both named in the Championship Team of the Season, scored 45 goals between them as the Latics finished second behind Sunderland.

You don’t have to take my word about their recent success. Here’s the current league table.

I must say; I’m truly amazed by this start to the season. I thought I’d comment now, since upcoming fixtures are against Arsenal, Spurs, Newcastle, Liverpool and Manchester United, and could lead to something of a correction to the above table. I grew up as a Liverpool fan, but went to watch Wigan play several times after they made it into the fourth division. I have no option but to support them now though, even when they play Liverpool at Anfield on December 3rd.